While the Avengers heroes will maintain a stronghold on the public's attention in the realm of upcoming Marvel movies — with Captain America, Thor, and possibly even the Hulk gearing for followup films in the foreseeable future — there is a separate property from the comic book enterprise that is building up a whole lot of appeal: Guardians of the Galaxy, the out-of-whack sci-fi adventure property slated for its feature film in 2014, which has just cast rising star Chris Pratt as its headlining hero, as reported by Deadline.
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Leading the assortment of crazy characters that make up the titular Guardians is Star-Lord, a human man affected by the mystical touch of an astronomical phenomenon upon birth. While the bulk of Pratt's fame comes attached to his beloved Parks and Recreation doofus Andy Dwyer (self-professed musical genius and Skittles aficionado), Pratt has bolstered his notability with dramatic turns in 2011's Moneyball and, even more impressively, Best Picture nod Zero Dark Thirty, wherein he played the spotlit member of SEAL Team 6.
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In fact, it is Pratt's get-the-job-done sensibility in Kathryn Bigelow's Osama bin Laden picture, teamed with his obvious knack for humorous delivery, that cements the actor as the perfect Star-Lord (a.k.a. Peter Quill). Pratt's casting, especially in the wake of mentioned names like Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler for the film, opens hope for a lighthearted, fun-filled, ostensibly comical adventure movie.
[Photo Credit: Columbia Pictures]
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Warning: potential spoilers for the future of the Marvel movie universe to follow....
Although we should know better by now than to doubt the Marvel dream, we still have a bit of trouble fully accepting the veracity when new projects hit the rumor mill. While a good deal of the studio's projects have surfaced in rumor form, years prior to materializing onscreen (think early mentions of The Avengers and its string of origin story movies, or the chatter that reintroduced Guardians of the Galaxy to the public conscious), we can't help but be skeptical upon hearing clamor regarding a new title... especially one drawn from the deep well of Marvel's "stranger" stories.
As such, we're not sure whether or not to place any faith in new discussions about an Avengers 2 follow-up centering on the Hulk — and a resulting Avengers threequel. According to Latino Review, whose inside info has hit and missed in the pass, the proposed Hulk spin-off would draw from the comic book arc "Planet Hulk," sending Bruce Banner off into outer space (by Marvel's Illuminati), where he'd land on an alien planet and become a Spartacus-like warrior. The Avengers 3, the film to follow, would return the Hulk and his extraterrestrial army to earth to exact revenge on his excommunicators and former colleagues (derived from the comic book storyline "World War Hulk"). At this point, all we have to bank on is the Latino Review's revelation of these alleged projects — Marvel has yet to enter the conversation with confirmation or denial (nor should they for some time to come). But if we're compelled to shrug off the plausibility of such titles based solely on the nature of their material, we should recall Marvel's recent history of long incubating projects — many of which didn't seem possible either.
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Over the past decade and change, the comic book enterprise has sprouted one of the most profitable, exciting film studios in the industry. Marvel cemented its superhuman prowess with The Avengers in 2012, a good four years (at least) after the first hints that such a film was in the works. Over this course of time, rumors about the developing project were met with varying degrees of hesitation — disbelief that any production company would take on such a project, or pessimism regarding whether Hollywood could do the comic book troupe justice. Even a 2008 Collider interview with Marvel's President of Production Kevin Feige that suggested the film as a sure thing ("In 2011, [we have] what we're calling The First Avenger: Captain America in early summer followed up, of course, by The Avengers.") was met with a deal of skepticism. Mainstream cinema was not conducive to what many fans would imagine as a genuine Avengers movie. And even if they could muster up a pleasing assembly, many were sure that only the already invested comic book geek populace would be interested in seeing it. Not an endeavor that any pragmatic production company would deem worthy.
But as we know, The Avengers not only came to fruition, but annihilated the international box office, earning more than $1.5 billion dollars (making it the third highest grossing film in history). With this new degree of esteem attached to Marvel's passion projects, fans could place more faith in future properties, titles they might only a year prior considered long-shots. For instance: the chin-strokingly strange Guardians of the Galaxy, a film adaptation rumored initially in 2011, is now a concrete task for the studio, with casting stories involving names like Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler (impossible ventures by the standards of our cynical minds circa the previous decade). Ant-Man, another in-the-works title from some highly oddball source material, would have been easily dismissed just a few years back. But these stories have a home in the big screen world now, thanks to the creative forces at Marvel staying true to passion and imagination. When you make something you'll like, others will like it, too.
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Which brings us to the latest, "Uh, really?" venture for Marvel: another Hulk movie. And a weird one, at that. Truth be told, America has not met its Hulk movies with a good deal of celebration: both Ang Lee's brooding Eric Bana film Hulk and the Initiative series' Edward Norton starrer The Incredible Hulk disappointed, rendering fans unsure if Banner could handle a feature film all on his own. More beloved as the antihero than either of his predecessors was The Avengers' Mark Ruffalo, who is signed on for five more Marvel movies as the not-so-jolly green giant. And with audiences' refreshed investment in all things Avenger, a new canonical Hulk movie would likely fare much better than the 2003 and 2008 films... even if the plot (Hulk landing on planet and becoming a gladiator and later king to the alien race) bears a striking resemblance to another recent Disney sci-fi film that didn't do so hot. "Planet Hulk", which earned an animated straight-to-DVD picture in 2010, could transpire with aplomb under the careful eye of Marvel's Rolodex of superstar filmmakers. Whether it will take form or not is yet to be determined. The only thing we should trust in for sure is that we live in a time when it can — as proven by Joss Whedon's Avengers, and developing entities like Guardians, Ant-Man, Dr. Strange, and more, nothing is off limits for the mainstream cinema anymore.
And that is an incredible thing.
[Photo Credit: Marvel(2)]
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Among the most exciting exhibitions to come out of Super Bowl XLVII, even more exciting than the long-awaited Harbaugh brothers showdown (though not quite as exciting as the longer-awaited Destiny's Child reunion and long blackout that kept us all waiting) is the string of new movie trailers audiences got to see. Among the fantastical features that gave us a sneak peek were franchise flicks Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Fast and Furious 6 and buzzy star-studded fare like World War Z, Oz the Great and Powerful, and The Lone Ranger.
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But which film did you — a member of the Super Bowl's coveted and captive audience — find most intriguing? Hoping to enterprise outside of Earth to Captain Kirk's chair or Oz's hot air balloon? Or is your vehicle of choice a high-octane thriller with Vin Diesel or a nostalgic ride on Tonto's horse? Or are zombies eating away at your brain? Watch all of the Super Bowl's movie spots, and tell us in our below: Which movie scored during the Super Bowl?
Iron Man 3
World War Z
Fast and Furious 6
Oz the Great and Powerful
Star Trek Into Darkness
The Lone Ranger
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/6876911/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Which Super Bowl-teased movie are you most excited for?&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;[Image Credit: Walt Disney Pictures; Paramount Pictures]
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Up until now, you might have worried that Benedict Cumberbatch wouldn’t be able to capture the menace you want in your Star Trek Into Darkness villain. Perhaps you were hung up by the actor’s nice guy demure — the wholesome nature borne from his War Horse role, his The Hobbit whimsy, or the fact that his name makes him sound like a Charles Dickens haberdasher.
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But as proven by the new trailer for the J.J. Abrams feature, premiering during Super Bowl XLVII, Cumberbatch knows his way around a chill.
The trailer depicts a brief faceoff between Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Cumberbatch’s ambiguous (Khan?) baddie. In addition to kindling a new fear for the British thesp, the trailer gets us hyped for Abrams’ next turn with the Enterprise. Check out the trailer below, and catch Star Trek Into Darkness in theaters May 17.
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[Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures]
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Ed Koch, known for his abundance of personality while working as mayor of New York, died early Friday morning at the age of 88.
According to reports, the former mayor was admitted to the intensive care unit on Thursday morning, passing away around 2 A.M. on Friday.
Current Mayor Michael Bloomberg released this statement, reflecting on Koch:
"In elected office and as a private citizen, he was our most tireless, fearless, and guileless civic crusader. Through his tough, determined leadership and responsible fiscal stewardship, Ed helped lift the city out of its darkest days and set it on course for an incredible comeback. We will miss him dearly, but his good works – and his wit and wisdom – will forever be a part of the city he loved so much. His spirit will live on not only here at City Hall, and not only on the bridge the bears his name, but all across the five boroughs."
Beginning his career as a lawyer, Koch worked his way up the political ladder, becoming a U.S. congressman from 1968 to 1977, when he ran and won the position of New York City's mayor. He served three terms.
After his time in government, Koch firmly put his stamp on the world of pop culture. In 1997, Koch presided over The People's Court for two seasons. He published Eddie, Harold's Little Brother, a children's book, in 2004. And for nearly his entire, post-mayoralty career, Koch wrote and delivered film criticism in a number of mediums.
As an avid moviegoer, Koch penned weekly reviews for the New York paper The Villager and the Long Island magazine Dan's Papers. In 2009, he started his own video enterprise, Mayor at the Movies. Utilizing the former mayor's outspoken nature, the reviews featured Koch on camera giving his two cents on movies currently in theaters.
Koch also found his way to the other side of the entertainment business. As a face of New York City, the former mayor appeared on Saturday Night Live, Sex and the City, and had a cameo role The Muppets Take Manhattan. In 2012, the mayor was in the spotlight of two documentaries: The Central Park Five and the all-encompassing Koch.
Today, New York City has a lost one of its former leaders, and perhaps more surprisingly, the world of film criticism has lost one of its greatest characters.
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Credit: Seth Wenig/AP Photo]
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It was like millions of geeky voices crying out... who were then suddenly silenced.
The crying out was the joyful sound of Star Wars fans learning that J.J. Abrams is to direct Episode VII. The sudden silence? Because so many of those fans have already taken to YouTube to spend hours and hours editing together clips from the original Star Wars trilogy in the style of a J.J. Abrams movie trailer. Some of these have spliced footage of Luke, Han, and Leia into moments from the teaser for Abrams' upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness. Others have merely played Benedict Cumberbatch's ominous voiceover as not-Khan over Wars footage. And pretty much all have incorporated blinding lens flares in one way or another. Even we imagined a new Abrams-inspired opening credits sequence for Episode VII: Leilicity.
Here are five of our favorite fan mashup trailers that are burning up the web like the twin suns of Tatooine.
1. Star Wars Into Darkness
It's amazing how easy it is to replace Bruce Greenwood's inspirational voiceover with Yoda talking about "my ally, the Force" and Cumberbatch's creepy villainy with The Emperor's evil cackle.
2. The Hero's Journey
Admittedly, I don't know why both the Emperor and Darth Vader would be in Episode VII since they died at the end of Return of the Jedi, but who cares? Based on the "hero's journey" shots of Luke Skywalker that all of these faux trailers have, it seems the fans really, really want Mark Hamill to return.
3. Star Wars Into Darkness Unleashed: The Old Republic
To use the parlance of young Annie Skywalker, this clip is "wizard" because it intercuts footage from the Star Trek Into Darkness trailer with cinematics from the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO videogame, The Force Unleashed II, and at least one shot from Revenge of the Sith. Smart move, since the actual trailer for Episode VII will be lucky if it's half as good as the “Deceived” cinematic trailer for The Old Republic. It also hints at how much in common Abrams' Trek already has with Star Wars, right down to the idea that there's nothing more calamitous that could ever happen than the destruction of a planet. Vulcan is Trek's Alderaan.
4. Star Wars: The Flare Unleashed
This one just really instills fear in me that Abrams will follow suit with his design for the Enterprise bridge and turn the interiors of that Galaxy Far, Far Away into a giant Apple store. Oh, wait. George Lucas already did that with Kamino.
5. The Teaser That Tells You Nothing
You gotta admit that this is almost exactly like the first teaser Abrams' debuted for 2009's Star Trek, a year before that movie's release. It shows absolutely nothing, and yet somehow inspires awe. Sadly, though, we don't have John F. Kennedy saying, "The eyes of the world now turn to space!" It's also a bit like the minimalist title sequences of Alias and Lost. Or, as Hollywood.com's movies editor Matt Patches puts it, "Does J.J. Abrams make all of his title sequences on his Mac laptop?"
So it's verdict time. Which of these is your favorite?
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
[Photo Credit: Lucasfilm]
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In October 2004, Google announced an ambitious project, one that has imagined by the greatest minds of the world for as long as humans have recorded their thoughts. The Google Print Library aimed to be an all-encompassing destination for information. The plan: scan every book in the world and make them available to view by anyone, at any time, anywhere. A utopian concept — one that quickly took shape as Google connected with America's universitys to digitize thousands of manuscripts. "Google Books" was recognized by many as one the 21st century's great innovations. For others, a terrifying seizure of power.
In Google and the World Brain, director Ben Lewis investigates the potential issues with the company's rising stature through interviews with writers, librarians, employees of the Titan corporation, and futurists. On the surface, even the most cautious can't help but speak in awe of the "world library." But when Lewis drops cautionary quotes from H.G Wells into the mix - predictions of a super power who eclipses all government with knowledge - the tone takes a turn for the worse. Futurist writer Jaron Lanier is the most vocal: with everyone in awe over Google's attempts to manifest the world library, Lanier believes society missed the step to regulate them.
If there's one issue for the film is the inability to crack Google's secretive process. When it comes to their high tech tech book scanning, a mobile unit that treks to libraries across the globe, there are only 6 seconds of recorded footage depicting the process in action. The only Google employee Lewis enlists can't be pushed to weigh in on the negative ramifications of the project. When legal battles eventually ensue against Google, authors taking action in the murky world of copyright law, Lewis' often opt to keep mum. As the court room warring continues today, sources keep confidential information (that would add to Lewis' case) out of the interviews.
Still, Lewis intriguing subject matter outweighs any road blocks he faces when mining facts. Like the futurists he's speaks with, Google and the World Brain looks at today to predict the future. Google isn't a nefarious enterprise, but decades from now, will power change them? There goal is to create the ultimate vault of information, one that can also support ads and enhance the artificial intelligence of their search engine. H.G. Wells wasn't far off when he imagined the future being home to a "world brain." Lewis' documentary isn't that different from the science fiction author's own forward thinking.
Could Google pose a potential problem for the world as a whole, even if they're goals are to help evolve society? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
[Photo Credit: Polar Star Films]
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Everything is different, yet nothing's changed: the Season 4 premiere of Justified was a wacky, wild ride — albeit one that set the stage for a really intriguing season, with Raylan barely holding on as a f***ed up, brokenhearted mess, and Boyd gleefully managing the Harlan criminal enterprise with the love of his life by his side. Even though these two characters make magic when they're on screen together, Tuesday's episode (and, from what we hear, the next few) found both men on two equally engaging (and equally batshit) separate journeys. One involved braces, breasts, and a secret bag from the '80s, the other a "snake church" run by Timmy from Jurassic Park. Basically, if last night can be used as an indicator, Season 4 is going to be really, really fun, and a departure from last year's darker fare.
Let's start with Raylan, whose wild ride began with good intentions: He received a late night call from one of the many hotties he's spent the night with, only this one wasn't a booty call — the woman was a bounty hunter, who would pay up if Raylan could deliver an escaped parolee convicted of double homicide. Easy enough, and Raylan needed the money for his unborn baby with she-who-will-not-be-named (okay, Winona). He caught the chatty criminal before I had time to grab my popcorn from the microwave, delivering one of many memorable lines from last evening after the man continually excused his actions (They were heroin dealers! They totally deserved to get murdered!). "You run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. You run into assholes all day, you're the asshole."
Truer words, Raylan. (Also, pot-kettle?) But the unlikely duo was about to encounter two criminal (and one well-meaning) assholes — Raylan received another late-night call as he attempted to drive his bounty over the state line, this time from comedian Patton Oswalt, known here as Constable Bob Sweeney. Sweeney, an old high school classmate, had been watching over Arlo's house while the old man rotted in prison, and a couple of kids had broken in and stolen some copper (more on them later). Raylan locked his bounty in his trunk and went over to investigate, and while poor Bob — who never amounted to anything after high school — prattled endlessly about long-forgotten high school victories, Raylan found what the kids were really looking for: a bag containing the 1979 driver's license of one Waldo Truth. (Aside: This is probably where I should mention that the episode began with a flashback to the early '80s, where a man fell from the sky with a bunch of bricks of what looked like cocaine. End of flashback.)
Raylan took the bag, not thinking much of it, and went over to the hardware store to buy some copper. There he ran into the female half of the teen duo from Arlo's house, who promptly enticed him with a literal and metaphoric screw (while wearing braces) and flashed her ample chest. But Raylan's an ass-man, and not a statutory rapist, so he politely declined her generous request...
... Which ended up to be a poorly-planned ruse. While she flashed her goodies, her boyfriend ran off with Raylan's car — which, if you remember, carried an escaped parolee in the truck. Bob told Raylan that most of the stolen cars in town end up immediately crushed in a junkyard for $500, so they hightailed it over to Criminal N' Sons Shady Illegal Activities Junkyard to retrieve it, and him. The man had already been freed by the wonder twins, who were holding him in the shed at gunpoint. This all led to a classic Justified-ian sequence where Raylan had several guns pointed at him, but somehow got out of it based on a stroke of luck — or, this time, a stroke of Bob. Bob stabbed the teen girl — who was being held by the parolee — in the foot, giving him time to regain control and announce to the duo that he knew they wanted the bag, not the copper or the car. Phew. Got that? This marked the end of Raylan's first adventure with Constable Bob, but he's a great comedic foil for Raylan who has been a total laconic downer his entire life, so I'm very excited to see more of him and his adorable man-crush on Raylan. See you on Twitter, Patton.
Of course, this wasn't the end of "The Tale of the Mysterious Bag" for Raylan — not by a long shot. He finally went over to see his filicide-enthusiast father in prison, who swore on his dead wife's life that he knew nothing of the bag. This would have been the end of it, until he said "Put that bag back in the wall and forget about it." Raylan hadn't said the bag was in the wall, so, sorry dead wife. It will probably be awhile before we find out the importance of Waldo Truth's old driver's license, but apparently it's worth approximately the cost of a man's life — a fellow inmate had the unfortunate luck of overhearing Arlo and Raylan's conversation, and when he approached the old goon later that night, he was rewarded with a stab to the jugular. Believe it or not, this was actually the second murder of the night.
Which brings us to Boyd, arguably the most fantastic person on television right now besides Daryl Dixon. Boyd was using his patented, twisted manner of speech to interrogate a former Oxy dealer (late on his payment) who had recently been saved by one "Last Chance Holiness Church." Boyd, wonderfully, used Biblical verse to justify (hey!) selling pills, comparing them to modern-day wine (albeit in pill form), which Jesus was totally a fan of. "I've got to be honest now, Boyd," the frightened man said. "A lot of the time the way you say things, I can't make hide nor hair." Ha! But that's what makes him beautiful, girl. Also, this line totally came full circle at the end of the episode when Boyd's lack of verbal clarity led to the same man being shot in the face. But more on that later.
In a sequence that fit in wonderfully with the whimsical, comedic tone of the episode, Ellen May (the hooker Ava punched) returned — stupid as ever, snorting a white substance with a john. This john handed her a fake million or billion or trillion dollar bill advertising the very same Last Chance Holiness Church, which they used, hilarrrriously, as their snorting vessel. Of course the show needed a way to bring the strung out Ellen May to the church, so she had a little mishap — the john made her close her eyes, and when he came back into the room for some sexy times, he was dressed AS A GIANT BEAR. You guys, he was a furry. I only found out what this was very recently, and it is endlessly frightening. Ellen May thought so too, so she shot at him several times — not enough to kill him, but enough to scare her into sobriety re: the Church.
So for Boyd and Ava — who are adorably running a large portion of Harlan's criminal enterprise with the whoring and the Oxy — the Church was already becoming a problem. Enter Boyd's mysterious, definite no-goodnik war buddy, Colt (Ron Eldard!), who had been recently discharged due to bad behavior (shooting his comrade in the arm). Boyd offered his old pal a job, effective immediately — then went over to take care of the Oxy payment once and for all: by putting dynamite between the former dealer's legs. He revealed the location of the money he owed, leading to the aforementioned verbal misunderstanding: "Take care of him," Boyd said to Colt. Boyd meant "tie him loose," but Colt took it as "shoot him in the head!" Hey, we all make mistakes. "Well, I guess I have to be more careful with my words," Boyd crooned. The night ended with a peek at the Timmy-led Church (with Ellen May in attendance), which consisted of people holding up snakes on folding chairs in a tent in the woods. This, apparently, is how you get sober in Harlan. All in all, it was a wonderful return for a show that got a little too dark last season, introducing a gaggle of new characters and plot lines that are sure to bring new life to the already vivid series. Your thoughts, pray tell? Follow Shaunna on Twitter @HWShaunna [PHOTO CREDIT: Prashant Gupta/FX] MORE: Raylan Returns: What to Know Before 'Justified' Debuts, Guns Blazing 'Justified' Gets Season 4: More Timothy Olyphant Shooting Junkies 'Cougar Town' Season Premiere React: Same Old 'Cougar Town', Now with Sex Jokes!
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“True power comes from within,” Emily said in the typically sullen voiceover that stated the theme of Revenge’s midseason premiere. I disagree. True power doesn’t come from within. True power must be taken. Just like how I took this Revenge recap away from Kelsea Stahler!
Okay, not really. Kelsea handed off Revenge to me, your new recapper Christian Blauvelt, because she’s taking over our American Idol recaps in a few days.
I formerly cataloged all the sudsy drama in the Hamptons in my Revenge recaps for EW.com, so here I am, at your service. It's fitting that I'm taking over with this particular episode, because Revenge itself seemed interested in hitting its own reset button this week.
“Power” began with Daniel Grayson being accosted by Helen Crowley, the smirking, dark-suited, stiletto-heeled mistress of the Americon Initiative who seems like a cross between the Evil Queen on Once Upon a Time and Cora on Downton Abbey.
She told Daniel that if he kept digging around in the more shadowy corners of Grayson Global, he might find a fortune, just like he did when he discovered his company’s claim on NolCorp.
Daniel wasn’t the only one whose turf was being encroached upon by sinister forces. Jack had just given Faux-Manda a seaglass necklace as a wedding present—it was something new, borrowed, and blue!—when she told him that she thought the Ryan brothers were bad news. No kidding.
Jack had all but discovered as much himself, but when you consider that Amanda, who likes to pal around with strippers from a club called the Beaver Dam, thinks the Ryan brothers are bad news, that means they’re really bad news.
Declan had also sniffed out their villainy and gotten Charlotte—who’s decided to take up residence with the wharf rat on the Amanda—to distract Nate, or as I like to call him Mr. Starbuck (it is Battlestar Galactica’s Michael Trucco, after all), while he snooped around among the goods they were stowing in the back of the Stowaway.
Charlotte was talking to Mr. Starbuck about how damaged people can be by their experience in prison, and Nate agreed, saying that he himself had spent a nickel in the slammer in his youth. He had been left holding the bag for his associates who were “purveyors of recreational curiosities.” Declan discovered that such curiosities could now be found in the back of the Stowaway, in the form of coke-stuffed coffee beans. You know, for when you really need a buzz.
Yup, the Ryan bros were using their bar as a front for their true moneymaking enterprise.
While the reputation of the Porter boys was about to be ruined forever, Victoria and Conrad sought to salvage what was left of theirs. As is often the case, a charity fundraiser would prove useful for that objective.
Remember, what Bert Cooper said on Mad Men: “Philanthropy…that’s true power.” (He said it a lot more cynically that it may come across in print.) They wanted to invite Supreme Court nominee Judge Robert Barnes and his wife, Patricia, to their house for dinner to discuss a fundraiser for their not-for-profit, the Liberty Foundation, an org that investigates claims of wrongful convictions.
It would make sense for Victoria to pledge a huge sum to the Liberty Foundation since Conrad himself had been wrongly accused of a crime. “If they sold stock in irony, I’d be richer than the Sultan of Brunei,” said Conrad, who really is getting all the best lines these days.
NEXT: Nolan forgets that no one has said “bros before hos” since 2002, and Aiden comes face to face with the Initiative.
Of course, this bit of charitable giving would work neatly into Emily’s own plans. Turns out, Barnes was the presiding Judge at her father’s trial.
And she had a letter that her father received from someone with “unparalleled access” to the court that alleged corruption and jury tampering, possibly from Judge Barnes himself, that assured David Clarke's wrongful conviction. Unfortunately, that letter was unsigned.
Now that he and his wife would be visiting Grayson Manor, Emily would be able to get out her red marker for some payback. Hell yeah, it’s crossing-out-headshots time!
Luckily, Emily would have one-on-one access to Barnes because Victoria wanted one-on-one access to her.
She paid a visit to Casa Clarke to suggest that Emily re-declare her love for Daniel, because her son had become drunk with power, ambition, greed, and anger ever since their breakup, and Victoria wanted him to become the kind of man he’d aspired to be when he was with Emily.
She thinks he only turned to Grayson Global to drown his heartbreak. It was just the opening Emily needed. She and Aiden quickly staged a loud, very public breakup at the restaurant where they knew Daniel would be. Conrad was there too, having sauntered in like a sleepy cat in plaid shorts and a yellow golf shirt. They were both very much aware of Emily and Aiden’s fireworks, and, like the gentleman he used to pretend to be, Daniel extended consolation to his old fiancée.
Remember, Aiden was denied a place on the Grayson Global board, so Emily still had the best shot of infiltrating the company from within…but to do so would require rekindling her romance with Daniel. Aiden would continue to try to get back into Daniel’s good graces, himself, but Nolan wisely noted that “Bros before hos only works if he’s not still in love with the ho, bro.” Emily would be the ho in this situation.
Speaking of recent hostile-takeover victim Mr. Ross, Daniel wanted Nolan to hack into the Grayson Global database using his tech expertise and look for rogue programs. Aha! Now he had the access they needed to investigate the company’s ties to the Initiative, and neither hos nor bros were needed.
He found surveillance video of Helen Crowley making a phone call and leaving a voice password: ingredi, the Latin word for “enter.” Aiden called the number that Nolan showed him Crowley had dialed, and who picked up? Crowley herself! She had been awaiting this call from Aiden all along, and now she was inviting him to meet her at an abandoned building.
When he arrived, he discovered that she’s the kind of woman who’s typically flanked by snipers and says things like “You’re in deep, Mr. Mathis. I hope you know how to swim.” She told him that they still have his sister, Colleen, and she’s alive. But if he continues his investigation, he will never see her again. Cold.
But though the scene was moodily suspenseful, rather than feeling worried for Aiden I just kept wishing Helen Crowley were played by Kate Mulgrew.
NEXT: Patricia Barnes has an alarming rate of equestrian-related injuries, and Declan proves that young people on TV can only eat breakfast food.
At the Grayson dinner party for Judge Barnes and his wife Patricia, Emily tried to provoke a reaction. She had deduced that the author of the letter to her father was Barnes’ old court clerk, James Palmer.
A court clerk who died three days after the guilty verdict was rendered...in a subway accident. Pretty mysterious.
But even more mysterious was Patricia’s odd reaction when Emily asked the Judge if he’d ever lost any sleep over one of his verdicts. “No, that would be my job,” Patricia said.
Immediately, her husband grabbed her hand. And not in a loving way. In a fierce, controlling way. He then declared that they would leave. At once. If his suggestion to Conrad “I think a man of your acumen, wealth, and guile belongs in politics” didn’t already label Barnes a villain, that hyper-controlling gesture hinted at a greater darkness.
Emily wasn’t going to let that go, so she investigated Patricia’s history of injuries by downloading her medical records. She had a long spate of broken bones, all of which occurred after 10:00 p.m. and which she attributed to horseback riding. Hmm.
So what should Jack and Declan do about the fact that their bar is a front for drugrunners? Well, luckily Porter the Elder had a friend in the Montauk PD.
And maybe if he called that friend and asked him to suddenly raid the Stowaway all their problems with the Ryan brothers would be solved. Problem was, Mr. Starbuck had already seen Declan sniffing around their stash, so he merely moved the drugs, and an unlicensed gun, out of the bar and onto the Amanda. That was where Charlotte was making a breakfast dinner for Declan. (Walter White Jr. has already shown us that young people on TV only ever eat breakfast foods.)
I suspect Declan was hungry for something else, though, so Charlotte said she would help him relax. Of course, the best way to relax is to cuddle up with your girlfriend...then have drug-sniffing dogs from the K9 unit of the DEA burst in. The cops quickly found the drugs, and Declan found himself in handcuffs, though not in handcuffs the way he might have wanted.
If only Amanda had been there with her tire iron. Not surprisingly, Jack had to play the hero and he immediately declared that those drugs were his, not Declan’s, even though they didn’t belong to either and were obviously planted there by the Ryans.
Thirty seconds more and Jack could have tried to explain as much to the coppers. But why be logical when you’re trying so hard to be noble? It’s just like the question facing Revenge’s writers regarding this storyline: why be entertaining when you can doggedly pursue a tedious subplot nobody cares about?
At the fundraiser, Emily went to apologize to Patricia. By “apologize” I mean make Patricia feel even more guilty by saying that Amanda Clarke gave her this letter her father had received from an unknown insider at his trial saying he’d been the victim of jury tampering.
And because she’d been torn away from her father, Amanda spent her youth in a series of foster homes, some of which were abusive environments…just like how Patricia is being abused. The guilt and the regret was simply too much for her. Patricia threw out the speech she had written extolling her husband and instead said that he’d rigged the verdict in the David Clarke case.
And if that weren’t enough, she then dramatically took off her coat, to reveal her arms all black and blue. Those bruises could only have come from her husband. Just like that Judge Barnes’ all-but-guaranteed spot on the Supreme Court vanished.
After all, as Patricia herself had put it, “The greater the power, the greater the chance for abuse.” Oh, and it was she who was the insider who wrote that letter to David Clarke. Her husband thought it was poor James Palmer, and Palmer ended up paying the ultimate price.
NEXT: Does this mean Revenge is hitting the Reset Button? And, if so, is moving forward by looking backward really an effective long-term plan for the show?
So Emily ended up putting a red X over the judge’s face. This was one of the more cathartic, satisfying bits of vengeance she’s ever enacted, because it not only meant exposing and disgracing a tyrant, it meant empowering a woman who’d been silenced for too long.
And to make it even better, Barnes was played by the third 24 alum we’ve seen on Revenge this season (after James Morrison and Joaquin de Almeida), Geoff Pierson, who played President Keeler, the doomed Commander in Chief who was assassinated on Day 4 when Air Force One was shot down by terrorists.
Of course, Conrad was immediately spinning his involvement with the Liberty Foundation, saying how thankful he was that Barnes had been exposed for the man he really was.
But it was because of the Grayson connection to this debacle that Daniel decided the company needed a new director of its philanthropic endeavors: Emily. And instead of discussing salary, he sealed his job offer—and her acceptance—with a kiss. A kiss which Aiden saw. Remington Steele, as Nolan called him (Nolan’s become the Hamptons’ turned-up-collar version of Sawyer), will not be a happy man.
Oh, speaking of Nolan, his old CFO/lover, Marco, is indicating that he wants to reignite his relationship with him. Despite helping to turn NolCorp over to Grayson Global and thinking that Nolan accepted money from a terrorist.
Apparently, this Marco may actually want to help Nolan bring down Grayson Global, and he gave him a flashdrive with a program, Carrion, that he said had some of the most powerful coding he’d ever seen.
Nolan, who’d designed it and abandoned it, called the program “cyber plutonium.” But it could be an effective weapon against their enemies. Yep, we’ve got ourselves a new MacGuffin.
The implication of “Power” is clear. Revenge’s writers are, in their own way, trying to hit the reset button on the show. They have Emily brandishing a red marker, putting X’s over photos of her targets’ faces. And they have her romantically entangled with Daniel once again.
It’s just like Season 1, folks! Forget about that dead-end storyline with Ems’ mother.
We’re moving forward by looking backward. The question is, is that a viable strategy? Will repetition of what worked in its early days help us slough off our frustration with Season 2? I’m not entirely convinced, especially since the least compelling Season 2 storyline of all, the Porter boys’ Montauk dock-bar politics, is still alive and well.
I’m hoping, though, that Revenge will prove me wrong. Share your thoughts in the comments below, and see you next week!
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
[Photo Credit: Vivian Zink/ABC]
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Paramount’s campaign for Star Trek Into Darkness isn’t so much a trail of quadrotriticale bread crumbs as it is the PR equivalent of one of Khan’s ear-crawling Ceti eels: relatively content-free slugs of information that nonetheless burrow their way into our brains and induce total Trek-related obsession. Just who is Benedict Cumberbatch’s starfleet officer-turned-villain John Harrison? Why does he still wear the uniform yet wage war against everything it represents? Why does he seem to have superhuman powers yet can be contained in a transparent holding cell? And where in space is Peter Weller? Well, Paramount’s not scratching our itch for more information, but they are adding to our heap of questions. They’ve just released 11 new photos from the movie (out May 13), most of which are just new angles on shots we’ve previously seen in the trailers. Let’s take a closer look.
First, we’ve got a shot of Kirk (Chris Pine, really looking more and more like William Shatner) standing with Alice Eve’s Carol Marcus. Now, J.J. Abrams has said that Star Trek Into Darkness is set just six months after the events of 2009’s Star Trek. That film was set in 2258. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the only other film featuring Carol Marcus, is set in 2282, when her son with Kirk, David, is about…24 years old! That means we can very much expect Marcus to be Kirk’s romantic interest in the new movie. I’m still holding out hope, however, that Abrams will decree that the alterations to the timeline from his first film will mean that whiny David never exists.
That circular pattern to Kirk's right looks just like the giant circle (A window? The Guardian of Forever?) a hooded John Harrison takes a towering leap in front of in the first Star Trek Into Darkness trailer Paramount released..
We know from the IMAX preview that part of the movie's opening sequence shows Spock (Zachary Quinto) leading a rescue mission from inside a volcano. Very Revenge of the Sith-esque.
The thing that puzzled me from that first trailer was how Harrison made a towering leap that hinted at superhuman ability, yet he was still firing at his foes with a phaser. That would suggest that he's not imbued with godlike powers, even though we all know that developing godlike powers is a common hazard associated with being a Starfleet officer. So what explains the leap? Is he just genetically enhanced?
First of all, I love how similar these uniforms are to the ones Admiral Kirk and the Enterprise crew wear in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Second, we've got our first real glimpse of Bruce Greenwood's Christopher Pike! And he's not in a wheelchair! Clearly, Pike is still playing the role of mentor in the new movie.
Anyone else think these phasers are starting to look more and more like the phase pistols from Star Trek: Enterprise?
I suppose post-Bourne, it's de rigueur for characters in action movies to take a running leap through plate glass. I'm still inclined, though, to chalk this up to some superhuman ability John Harrison possesses that hasn't been revealed yet.
One of the few times in any of the clips from the movie we've seen so far where Kirk is actually wearing his mustard uniform, though I'm sad Shatner's original series velour has been replaced with some kind of vinyl mesh.
Going where Hannibal Lecter, Silva, and Loki have gone before him: inside a glass jail cell.
Why does a communications officer need to pack heat? I'm pretty sure that isn't a phaser she's clutching, though. Maybe a Klingon disruptor?
Maybe Scotty will explain to us in this movie why flip phones experience a mid-23rd century revival.
Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt
[Photo Credit: Paramount (11)]
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With Archer trapped in the 31st century, the Suliban holds the crew hostage. Meanwhile, Daniels worries that his actions may affect history.

Episode 2. Carbon Creek
(AIR DATE 09/25/2002)

Disputing the long-accepted history that the current encounter between Vulcans and humans is the first ever, T'Pol tells Trip and Archer about a small group of Vulcans, which included her great-grandmother, crash-landing in Pennsylvania in the mid-1900s.

Episode 3. Minefield
(AIR DATE 10/02/2002)

When Archer receives orders to leave Romulan airspace, he must choose whether or not to abandon Reed, who is pinned to the hull.

Episode 4. Dead Stop
(AIR DATE 10/09/2002)

Stopping for repairs, the ship docks at a mysterious space station.

Episode 5. A Night in Sickbay
(AIR DATE 10/16/2002)

When his dog picks up a deadly alien virus, Archer spends a troubling night with him in the ship's sick bay.

Episode 6. Marauders
(AIR DATE 10/30/2002)

With their ship low on fuel, the Enterprise crew finds themselves stranded on a mining colony controlled by Klingons.

Episode 7. The Seventh
(AIR DATE 11/06/2002)

Archer and T'Pol pursue a fugitive who has been on the run from Vulcan authorities for almost two decades.

Episode 8. The Communicator
(AIR DATE 11/13/2002)

Reed and Archer revisit a planet in order to retrieve a communicator only to be captured and set for execution.

Episode 9. Singularity
(AIR DATE 11/20/2002)

The crew's behavior becomes erratic as the result of a black hole.

Episode 10. Vanishing Point
(AIR DATE 11/27/2002)

Hoshi experiences strange events after using the transporter for the first time and is convinced she has been altered during the trip.

Episode 11. Precious Cargo
(AIR DATE 12/11/2002)

Trip frees an exotic alien female prisoner and helps her escape her captors.

Episode 12. The Catwalk
(AIR DATE 12/18/2002)

The crew finds shelter in a maintenance shaft during a deadly radioactive storm.

Episode 13. Dawn
(AIR DATE 01/08/2003)

Trip is caught in a game of cat-and-mouse with an alien while they are both stranded on a deserted moon. As the scorching sun rises, it threatens to burn both of them alive.

Episode 14. Stigma
(AIR DATE 02/05/2003)

Dr. Phlox experiences resistance from Vulcan doctors during a medical conference as he searches for information about a terminal disease which has infected T'Pol.

Episode 15. Cease Fire
(AIR DATE 02/12/2003)

Captain Archer must mediate a dispute over a small planet looming between the Vulcans and Andorians.

Episode 16. Future Tense
(AIR DATE 02/19/2003)

After Captain Archer investigates a small ship found floating in space, the Sulibans and Tholians attack the Enterprise, laying claim to the newly-discovered ship.

Episode 17. Canamar
(AIR DATE 02/26/2003)

When Archer and Trip are accused of smuggling and arrested, they are held aboard a prison ship en route to a penal colony.

Episode 18. The Crossing
(AIR DATE 04/02/2003)

The Enterprise is overtaken by an alien craft, during which time noncorporeal creatures inhabit the bodies of crew members in order to snatch their souls.

Episode 19. Judgment
(AIR DATE 04/09/2003)

Archer is tried in a Klingon tribunal and faces a penalty of death for helping refugees escape the empire.

Episode 20. Horizon
(AIR DATE 04/16/2003)

Mayweather visits his old cargo ship home following his father's death, only to learn that things have drastically changed. Meanwhile, Enterprise explores an unusual planetary phenomenon close to Earth.

Episode 21. The Breach
(AIR DATE 04/23/2003)

The Enterprise crew rushes to evacuate a team of geologists during a planetary invasion. Meanwhile, Phlox has to save the life of a member of an alien race that is hostile to his race.

Episode 22. Cogenitor
(AIR DATE 04/30/2003)

When the Enterprise crew makes contact with a three-gendered species, Trip tries to help a member of the third gender, known as Cogenitors, upon learning of their poor treatment.

Episode 23. Regeneration
(AIR DATE 05/07/2003)

When a ship containing two frozen cybernetic Borg drones is found in Earth's Arctic Circle, Archer and the Enterprise crew are brought in to investigate. After thawing out, the alien beings prove to be more of a threat than initially realized.

Episode 24. First Flight
(AIR DATE 05/14/2003)

Archer recounts for T'Pol the story of when, as pilots, he and a rival were in competition to be the first to break the Warp 2 barrier.

Episode 25. Bounty
(AIR DATE 05/14/2003)

A bounty hunter captures Archer and plans to give him over to the Klingons for a reward. Meanwhile, T'Pol is infected with a virus that unleashes the Pon Farr, a recurring mating urge within Vulcans.

Episode 26. The Expanse
(AIR DATE 05/21/2003)

After an alien race known as the Xindi strike a devastating blow against Earth, the Enterprise is given a new directive, and Archer and the crew must now set out for the far end of the galaxy to battle the Xindi and stop them from completely annihilating Earth. Along the way, they continue to be trailed by the Klingons, hellbent on destroying Captain Archer.

The Enterprise crew have made little headway since they began their mission to prevent the destruction of all humanity, but word of a Xindi worker on a distant mining colony and the subsequent investigation into the Xindi race bring Archer and Trip into a dangerous trap.

Episode 2. Anomaly
(AIR DATE 09/17/2003)

The functionality of the Enterprise is severely impaired by anomalies, but while making repairs, the ship is looted by a group known as the Osaarians. After going after their stolen items, Archer learns that the Osaarians have had contact with the Xindi and frantically tries to question an Osaarian prisoner for information.

Episode 3. Extinction
(AIR DATE 09/24/2003)

Continuing to track the path of the Xindi, the Enterprise travels to a planet, on which Archer, Hoshi, and Reed contract an unusual virus, one which doesn't affect T'Pol. As Phlox desperately tries to find a cure, an alien race with knowledge of the virus' history arrives and plans to curtail any possible further outbreaks.

Episode 4. Rajiin
(AIR DATE 10/01/2003)

When the Enterprise docks on a planet in search of a chemical formula, Archer rescues a slave named Rajiin and plans to return her to her home. Rajiin, however, begins exerting a mind control over the crew with the intent to provide information for the Xindi.

Episode 5. Impulse
(AIR DATE 10/08/2003)

When Archer, Reed, Hawkins, and T'Pol attempt to save a Vulcan ship that has called for help from within an asteroid field, they soon find themselves trying to fight off the ship's crew which seemingly has become deranged and aggressive.

Episode 6. Exile
(AIR DATE 10/15/2003)

A telepathic alien offers Hoshi his services to find out information on the Xindi and its weaponry in exchange for her presence. She soon learns that he refuses to let her return to the Enterprise, which is on its way to a newly discovered sphere.

Episode 7. The Shipment
(AIR DATE 10/29/2003)

After setting down on a Xindi colony, Archer, Reed, and Major Hayes infiltrate a facility which produces a substance necessary to create a powerful Xindi weapon and attempt to find the facility head to see what is known about the attack on Earth. Meanwhile, Phlox and Trip take a look at the mechanics of a Xindi-Reptilian instrument of destruction.

Episode 8. Twilight
(AIR DATE 11/05/2003)

After a parasite causes Archer to lose his short-term memory, he wakes up and finds that he's twelve years into the future and was relieved of his command, after which point Earth was ultimately destroyed when the Enterprise crew failed its mission. Dr Phlox figures out how to eliminate the parasite and regain Archer's lost years, but he has to work fast, as the Xindi are returning to pick off whatever humans are still left.

Episode 9. North Star
(AIR DATE 11/12/2003)

Archer gets caught up in a conflict when he, T'Pol, and Trip end up on a planet which resembles Earth's cowboy wild west. A showdown is coming as the humans are in charge, dispensing prejudice to a race known as the Skargarans who several hundred years ago were in charge and brought the humans over as slave labor.

Episode 10. Similitude
(AIR DATE 11/19/2003)

While trying to make some modifications to the ship, Trip is seriously hurt in the process and the ship gets stranded in an erouspolaric field. Phlox creates a symbiot of Trip to utilize natural tissue for transplant purposes, but the moral dilemma arises when the simbiot, who has figured out how the ship can escape the field, is slated to lose its life to save Trip's.

Episode 11. Carpenter Street
(AIR DATE 11/26/2003)

Archer learns that three Xindi-Reptilians have arrived in Detroit in the year 2004 and he and T'Pol head there to determine their purpose. They learn that the Xindi have employed a man named Loomis to lure unsuspecting humans and force them into service in the ongoing creation of the Xindi superweapon.

Episode 12. Chosen Realm
(AIR DATE 01/14/2004)

When the Enterprise rescues a group of Triannons, it turns out to be a rouse to kidnap the crew and take the Enterprise to their homeworld for the purpose of destroying all who disagree with their ideas. One crew member must also die to atone for the Enterprise's past exploration of a territory the Trainnons find sacred.

Episode 13. Proving Ground
(AIR DATE 01/21/2004)

The Enterprise makes a risky trek to a test area for the Xindi superweapon's prototype, sustaining ship damage and risking the crew's lives in order to get close enough to snatch the weapon. When an Andorian ship, captained by Shran, comes to the aid of the Enterprise, Shran's objectives for the weapon soon become oppositional to those of both Archer and the Andorians.

Episode 14. Stratagem
(AIR DATE 02/04/2004)

The Enterprise crew constructs an elaborate, carefully-executed rouse to elicit from captured Xindi Degra the location where the Xindi superweapon is being designed.

Episode 15. Harbinger
(AIR DATE 02/11/2004)

The Enterprise picks up a new discovery, an alien pod, and Phlox treats the seemingly sick alien housed within the pod while Archer determines the alien's intentions. Meanwhile, Reed and Major Hayes come to blows with one another during a Starfleet training session, while T'Pol feels some discomfort at the interactions between Trip and Corporal Amanda Cole.

Episode 16. Doctor's Orders
(AIR DATE 02/18/2004)

When the Enterprise tries to travel through a deadly area of the Expanse, Dr Phlox gets the go ahead by Archer to put everyone into temporary comas so that no one is impacted during the transit. The attempt proves more perilous than originally thought, and not only does Phlox find himself needed to guide them out of the rapidly-growing area, he also finds himself hampered by hallucinations brought on by the trip.

Episode 17. Hatchery
(AIR DATE 02/25/2004)

Archer and the crew disagree on how to handle the discovery of a group of Xindi-Insectoid eggs. Archer wants to keep them alive, whereas the hesitant crew isn't so sure that's the right move.

Episode 18. Azati Prime
(AIR DATE 03/03/2004)

As the Enterprise reaches Azati prime and hopes to finally rid itself of the Xindi superweapon, Daniels shows up and takes Archer 400 years into the future, where he discovers a conspiracy that would dangerously set humans against the Xindi.

Episode 19. Damage
(AIR DATE 04/21/2004)

As the Enterprise recovers from an intense battle with the Xindi, Archer is sent back to the ship, but must deal with the reality of its damage. When the Enteprise encounters an Illyrian ship and learns it's carrying spare parts necessary to fix the damages, but won't barter for them, he must abandon his ethical code and physically lay claim to the parts.

Episode 20. The Forgotten
(AIR DATE 04/28/2004)

The Enterprise settles into port with Degra's ships while recooperating from its intense fight with the Xindi. Archer must convince Degra, however, that the Xindi superweapon Degra has created is going to be used within days and that humankind is an ally. Trip, meanwhile, is given the task of memorializing one of the fallen crew for the loved ones.

Episode 21. E2
(AIR DATE 05/05/2004)

While attempting to reach the Xindi Council, the Enterprise finds a version of itself from a century into the future, brought on by an error during their travel through a wormhole. The descendants of the Enterprise, Lorian and Karyn, then try to help the current crew achieve success in their mission by ugrading the Enterprise's warp capabilities.

Episode 22. The Council
(AIR DATE 05/12/2004)

The Enterprise manages to make it to the chamber of the Xindi Council, where Hoshi helps Archer communicate with the council to let it know that the Sphere Builders have taken advantage of the Xindi to mastermind the superweapon and that Earth must be spared. Upon learning this, the Sphere Builders secretly take action, not keen on letting Archer and the council take control of the weapon. Meanwhile, T'Pol and Reed take a crew into one of the spheres to obtain its knowledge.

Episode 23. Countdown
(AIR DATE 05/19/2004)

With the Xindi weapon set to be activated and ready to hurl towards Earth, Archer must make allies of the Xindi.

Episode 24. Zero Hour
(AIR DATE 05/26/2004)

Archer heads a crew to stop the Xindi weapon from landing on Earth, dangerously racing to disarm the weapon from the inside. Meanwhile, the Enterprise's showdown with the Sphere Builders is inevitable.

A bruised Archer, having saved Earth from the Xindi, mysteriously wakes up in 1940s Germany where, held captive by the Nazis and a group of uniformed aliens, he learns that aliens have helped Nazi forces launch an invasion on America. After breaking free, Archer teams up with a trio of American Resistance members to stop the aliens from bringing about the total destruction of America and curtailing the future of the world.

Episode 2. Storm Front (Part II)
(AIR DATE 10/15/2004)

Archer utilizes Silik's help in tracking down the one who rewrote Earth's history and is now headed towards making a reality the destruction of all of history itself.

Episode 3. Home
(AIR DATE 10/22/2004)

The crew of Enterprise heads home to Earth following its battles with the Xindi and the Temporal Cold War. Meanwhile, Trip and T'Pol head off to meet T'Pol's mother, T'Les.

Episode 4. Borderland
(AIR DATE 10/29/2004)

The Enterprise team brings Dr. Arik Soong onboard to help locate his wayward creations, a group of genetically-enhanced human beings he made using stolen DNA.

Episode 5. Cold Station 12
(AIR DATE 11/05/2004)

Having escaped from Captain's Archer custody, Dr. Soong heads back to his old medical lab Cold Station 12, which is currently housing hundreds of the genetically-engineered human embryos which Soong plans to raise as Augments, the first wave of beings designed to supplant ordinary humanity.

Episode 6. The Augments
(AIR DATE 11/12/2004)

The Enterprise crew chases through Klingon territory to stop Dr. Soong, who has ventured to a planet he hopes will serve as the home base for his Augment children. The Augments, however, turn on Dr. Soong and are soon attempting to instigate a war between Klingons and humans.

Episode 7. The Forge
(AIR DATE 11/19/2004)

When the signs of a bomb attack on a Vulcan embassy point to the Syrrannites, a militant religious faction split off from the traditional Vulcan teachings, T'Pol and Archer must pursue the perpetrators through the Vulcan desert.

Episode 8. Awakening
(AIR DATE 11/26/2004)

Archer and T'Pol come face to face with the Syrrannites after following them through the desert, where T'Pol confronts her mother, who has joined up with the rebel group. Meanwhile, the crew of the NX-01 is forced to grapple with the Vulcans' tactics, as their attack against Andoria threatens to pull Earth into a major war.

Episode 9. Kir'Shara
(AIR DATE 12/03/2004)

In the midst of a dispute between Andorians and Vulcans involving the NX-01, Archer, T'Pol, and T'Pau make their way to the Kir'Shara with a relic they believe holds original written messages sent from Surak to the Vulcans.

Episode 10. Daedalus
(AIR DATE 01/14/2005)

Archer's old friend Emory Erickson, inventor of the transporter technology used by the Enterprise, comes aboard the ship to make an upgrade, but the crew soon learns that he plans to, in actuality, use the ship to try and find the son who disappeared as a result of a glitch in the transporter technology.

Episode 11. Observer Effect
(AIR DATE 01/21/2005)

The Enterprise crew is the subject of an unwitting experiment conducted by aliens to see how humans respond to tragedy following the spread of a fatal virus across the ship.

Episode 12. Babel One
(AIR DATE 01/28/2005)

On the way to a peace conference with the Andorians, the Enterprise finds itself under attacked by Romulans while shepherding Tellarite vessels carrying delegates.

Episode 13. United
(AIR DATE 02/04/2005)

As Malcolm and Tripp are stuck on the ship that is being controlled from afar by the Romulans, they must outmaneuver the cunning Romulans and keep the Tellarites and Andorians from declaring war on one another. Meanwhile, Archer attempts to protect his own crew while keeping the peace between the argumentative factions, but the killing of an alien from one of the factions further escalates the tension.

Episode 14. The Aenar
(AIR DATE 02/11/2005)

Archer journeys to Shran's home planet in an attempt to locate a species called the Aenar, a peaceful group which may have a connection to the Romulans and the recent destruction of several local space vessels. Meanwhile, Trip and T'Pol try to design a device which will override the Romulans' remote-controlled ship.

Episode 15. Affliction
(AIR DATE 02/18/2005)

A group of Klingons kidnaps Dr Phlox and forces him to work on a cure for a genetically-engineered virus threatening the existence of the entire Klingon race. Trip readies to begin his next assignment on the inaugural trek of the starship Columbia. Meanwhile, Reed's interactions with a secret organization could have dire consequences for Archer and the crew, while T'Pol attempts a mind-meld to find Dr Phlox.

Episode 16. Divergence
(AIR DATE 02/25/2005)

Archer uses the help of the Starship Columbia and its shipmates, Captain Hernandez and Trip, to go after the kidnapped Dr Phlox within Klingon turf, while Dr Phlox agrees to devise a vaccination that will help save the Klingon race. Meanwhile, Reed's further activities with a mysterious organization forces Archer to confront him for the truth.

Episode 17. Bound
(AIR DATE 04/15/2005)

After successfully arbitrating with the Orion Syndicate, Archer is surprised to find himself presented with a trio of slave girls as a token of appreciation.

Episode 18. In a Mirror, Darkly (Part I)
(AIR DATE 04/22/2005)

An alternate version of the Enterprise finds the ship's goals more ruthless, with an alternate captain and Archer as the captain's villainous first officer heading up the crew. On a mission into the heart of enemy territory, this version of the Enterprise comes across a startling revelation.

Episode 19. In a Mirror, Darkly (Part II)
(AIR DATE 04/29/2005)

The power mad Archer and his Enterprise crew utilize a ship known as the Defiant to stop a Tholian onslaught, after which time Archer sets his sights on overtaking Earth's Terran Empire.

Episode 20. Demons
(AIR DATE 05/06/2005)

While on Earth for an interplanetary peace conference, Archer and the Enterprise crew come across the dark plans of a radical human group called Terra Prime, who wish to reduce the alien population present on Earth, keeping humans as the dominant influence. Meanwhile, the radical group seems to know something about a baby they claim T'Pol and Trip are expecting, while Travis is pursued by a reporter with ties to his past.

Episode 21. Terra Prime
(AIR DATE 05/13/2005)

Archer, Reed, and Travis continue their efforts to stop Paxton, a radical human leader who wishes to end the alien presence on Earth, from forcing the implementation of his demands through the destruction of Starfleet Command. Meanwhile, T'Pol and Tripp, held captive by Paxton, find themselves intrigued with a baby girl that was created using DNA from each of them.

Episode 22. These Are the Voyages...
(AIR DATE 05/13/2005)

After six years have passed, the Enterprise crew returns to Earth, with the ship now retired from action, and the interplanetary alliance is solidified with the signing of a Federation charter. At Shran's request, the crew's final mission takes them on a perilous journey to find and retrieve his abducted daughter.

Synopsis

The fifth installment in the "Star Trek" sci-fi adventure franchise. This prequel to the original "Star Trek" series is set early in the 22nd century, 100 years before Captain James T. Kirk helmed the starship Enterprise. The series explores the history of intergalactic upheaval that eventually leads to the formation of The Federation. Characters include: Captain Jonathan Archer; Chief Engineer Commander Charlie Tucker; Lieutenant Malcolm Reed; Ensign Hoshi Sato; Phlox; and Sub Commander T'Pol.